It is known for a locking differential to have a differential carrier contained within a drive housing and rotatable around an axis, with two spaced-apart side gears also contained within the drive housing and rotatable relative to one another, and having a differential component which co-operates with the side gears by means of alternately engaging toothings.
The most commonly used type of differential drive is the bevel gear differential. To the extent that such a differential is to have a self-limiting or self-locking effect (both terms herein used in the sense of slip-limiting), it is necessary to provide a locking device, preferably a multi-plate coupling between two of the three basic components, i.e., the differential carrier and the two spaced-apart side gears, the latter being rotatable relative to one another around a common axis.
A new type of differential is known from WO 96/41088 in which side gears are provided with one or two inclined disc faces which face one another, with disc elements resting against the disc faces in a wobbly manner. Two of the disc elements are non-rotatably connected to one another, with one disc rotating with the differential carrier. It will be readily appreciated that the construction of such an assembly is extremely complex.
In European Patent 0 619 863 B1, there is disclosed a differential drive wherein a plurality of sliding blocks is arranged between two side gears with opposed end toothings. The sliding blocks are axially-displaceable relative to one another, and have double wedge faces at their ends. Again, it will be readily appreciated that the construction of such an assembly is extremely complex.
It is the objective of the present invention to provide a new type of differential drive with a self-inhibiting or self-locking ti effect, with a simple design and relatively few parts.